


Scavenger Hunt

by anonomousfan



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Alpacas, F/M, France (Country), One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 10:10:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1301119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonomousfan/pseuds/anonomousfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two people wake up to the most inconceivable of situations and must now work together to discover exactly what happened that night while simultaneously hiding everything from everyone they know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Buuuzzzzz

Buuuzzzzz

Chase cracked his eyes open, but shut them immediately upon catching an eyeful of the sunlight streaming through the window. Completely disoriented he rolled over to the side away from the blaring sun before making another attempt at opening his eyes. This time he succeeded, glaring through squinted eyes at the object that had awoken him.

It was a cellphone, silver fucking cellphone. It sat there innocently pm the brown mahogany end table; in front of a white alarm clock whose green numbers proudly informed him that it was six in the morning. He groaned, burying his face in his pillow. After burrowing his head in the fabric for a moment he froze.

Buuuzzzzz

Buuuzzzzz

He sat up on his elbows suddenly, his long hair falling in his face, the greenish black contrasting against the stark white pillows. Amongst the pounding in his head he registered that his pillows where red not white and were much softer than these. He glanced over at the silver cellphone he knew he didn't own before twisting his head to survey the room. It was a hotel room, a nice one actually, with cream colored walls and a plasma TV perched against the wall, to the left of which he could see a pair of French doors that likely led to the rest of the expensive suite. A ray of light hit his face and he craned his neck to see that the source of the sunlight was not from the window but rather the doors leading to an expansive balcony. The balcony wasn't the only thing he saw on the other side of the bed, where a lump lay hidden amongst the thick covers of the king sized bed. Protruding from the top was a slim, creamy arm nestled amongst long, inky black hair spread across the pillow like black rivers.

Well then.

Chase smirked, sitting up in bed and quickly discovering he was without clothing as the covers pooled at his waist. It appears he had managed to spend the height with someone. Who he had no idea an as He ran his hand through his hair and glanced around the room once more, he realized he had absolutely no recollection of how he had gotten here. Obviously he had been drinking the night previous. It would certainly explain the memory loss, and the pounding headache, but that was about the only thing he could deduce at the moment.

Chase yawned before sheepishly looking at the crumpled heap beside him. Perhaps the lady could shed some light on his location. She was likely some poor stranger he had seduced into whoever's bed this was, but at least she could tell him what country he was in. Just as he was about to lift the convers of the unsuspecting bundle, a chime interrupted him. He glanced at the silver cellphone, one that looked somewhat familiar, to see that the screen was glowing. He twisted over to peer at the bright lettering informing him that the phone had received a voicemail. He picked it up, and scrolled through the device until he found the message archive.

It was a bit rude but he was Heylin.

He clicked on the most recent message and pressed the device to his ear.

Hey Kim! Just calling to check in! Hope your Dad's conference went all right!

Chase furrowed his brows, that voice was familiar.

We miss you, even Raimundo, so I hope you can return soon but take your time. I know its been hard.

The voice was soft and sympathetic and so damn familiar but Chase just couldn't place his finger on it.

Oh by the way don't ask where I got the phone. See ya!

The phone hung up with click.

Conference? Chase rubbed his face in his hand before realization hit him. Of course! He remembered the day previous when Spicer had come into his palace absolutely begging Chase to accompany him to an international business conference hosted in Tokyo. Normally the young man would have been booted out of his home on the spot however Jack had done him a good service (for once) during one of his schemes and Chase had rewarded Jack with a single favor should he ever need it. Therefore he was forced to begrudgingly accept. He remembered entering the party with an unusually happy Jack beside him but after that he drew a blank.

A shift and a groan caught his attention and he looked at the bundle beside him, which shifted slightly before settling, its occupant resting with an exhale. Obviously she was the daughter of whoever was hosting this event. He snickered. He was an excellent guest wasn't he?

Mystery solved he moved to get out of bed before a card on the table next to the cellphone caught his attention. It was a thank you card, obviously they had handed them out at the door. He peered at the writing and froze.

Tohomiko industries thank you for your attendance.

He suddenly realized whom the voice on the phone belonged to.

That had been Dojo Kanojo Cho, calling for someone named Kim, whose father owned Tohomiko Industries. Chase clamped his hand over his mouth and inhaled sharply, hissing through his teeth.

Shit.

A gasp behind him caught his attention and he turned to find his bedmate wide-awake and upright, her blue eyes staring at him in absolute horror.

"Kimiko…" he began slowly, reaching out a tentative hand towards the young woman. Se opened her mouth.

"Don't." he growled in warning, but he was too late.

She let out an absolutely scathing screech that grated on his ears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chase's head was ringing as his ravaged brain attempted to process the banshee level screeching that was hurdling out of Kimiko's mouth. He stared at her through glaring, squinted eyes. Her rather beautiful (he would admit) blue eyes were clamped shut so tightly, her thin eyebrows appeared to be making an attempt to craw under her eyelids. Her cherry red lips were parted widely, the sound belting from them unrelenting in its onslaught. Chase was debating whether or not to shove his fist into her mouth when she stopped abruptly, clamping her lips shut and snapping her eyes open, staring at him in wide-eyed horror. Kimiko was breathing hard, more like wheezing actually, her shoulders heaving. She looked absolutely terrified and honestly, he couldn't blame her.

Deciding that the nice approach would benefit both parties, Chase softly reached out to her, keeping the straightest, most calm face he could muster.

"Hey-" He was interrupted as she slapped his hand away with enough force to dislocate a normal person's shoulder.

"Villain!" She screeched, tumbling backwards and taking the comforter with her as she vanished over the edge of the bed, the balcony doors shuttering as she slammed against them. He could ear the frantic rustling of her body against the prison that the comforter had become. Accompanying this epic struggle were choked, frustrated mewls. Chase stifled a laugh, trying to be a gentleman, but nonetheless a pinched smile managed to escape. The rustling stopped suddenly and Chase raised an eyebrow. Deciding that the young woman had finally come to her senses, he crawled across the bed and peered over the edge

A blossom of pain bloomed across his temple as he was smacked in the face with an ice bucket. The blow was hard enough to stagger him and his vision grew splotchy for a moment.

"What the fuck woman!" He roared, as the woman in question took advantage of his disorientation to dash for the balcony doors, wrenching them open and waddling out into the warm summer air, the comforter billowing around her in a train of puff. Now irritated beyond belief, Chase pushed his hand into his temple, his fingers sticky with the blood from his injury. He heard her curse as she realized the doors did not lead to the exit, but before she could turn around to dash back into the room he bolted form the bed and slammed doors in her face as she sprinted towards him. She was unable to stop in time, the door heaving against his hands as she crashed into it.

"OW!" She screeched. He felt her violently jiggle the doorknob in an attempt to open the door but he would have none of it. The knob refused to budge under his iron grip.

"Let me in asshole!" She yelled, her voiced slightly muffled through the door.

"Are you going to settle yourself?" He replied, deciding to be calm so as not to exacerbate the situation.

"You broke my nose!" She roared.

"And you gave me a concussion so I do believe that makes us even."

He heard her growl and sighed tiredly, his head throbbing against his hand.

"I think this situation would be much more amenable if we just sat town and talked." He tried, hoping to put some sense into the woman. It was quiet for a moment before he felt Kimiko let go of the doorknob.

"Fine." She replied quietly and Chase cautiously cracked the door open and stuck is head out enough to see Kimiko's face. She was glaring at him, her hand covering her nose, form which a stream of blood was slowly trickling. It slid down the length of her forearm, droplets of blood plopping onto the marble floor of the balcony.

"Can I come in now?" She huffed impatiently. Chase shrugged.

"Are you going to assault me again?"

"Yeah I'll just choke you with this comforter." She bit back. Chase relented and put his hand up, stepping back as he opened the door all the way. She continued to glare at him over her hand and made to storm past him into the suite but stopped abruptly before even half a step was made. Chase cocked his head to the side as she stood frozen, the glare now replaced with a set of wide eyes assessing the length of his body, an angry red blush creeping across her face.

"Um…you…ah…" She stammered, confusing him with her sudden change in attitude. Her gaze trailed from his face, going a bit lower for a split second before she squeaked and clamped her eyes shut, clenching the fabric of the comforter closer to her chest. She rushed past him so fast he barely had time to dodge, and could only watch as she made a beeline for the bathroom door on the opposite side of the room. Once inside she slammed the door shut with enough force to rattle the end table. Chase was left standing there completely bewildered before it dawned on him. He looked down at himself.

Oh, right. He forgot to take the sheet with him. Chase scratched the back of his head and looked sheepishly at the bathroom door.

"Whoops."

As she sagged against the bathroom door, her chest heaving and nose aching, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation she now found herself in. The fact that she had absolutely no idea how she wound up this way wasn't helping matters. The last thing she remembered was her papa persuading her to attend the convention he was throwing.

"You've been moping around the house for two weeks now" he had said, "You should get out for at least one night."

It was true; she had been sulking for the duration of her stay at home. She couldn't help it, considering what had happened back at the temple. Her eyes darkened and she deliberately drove away the memory that was tickling at the edge of her thoughts. Now was not the time, she needed to sort this mess out first.

She remembered entering the party, bringing her favorite white gown and a stubbornly optimistic attitude along with it. The rest was completely gone, except for a fuzzy recollection of having a drink put in her hands and a whisper in her ear, accompanied by the faint scent of jasmine and musk. She sighed into her hand and yelped as it put too much pressure on her injured nose. She huffed, storming to the bathroom sink and removing her hand to examine her injury in the mirror. Lucky for that bastard, it didn't appear to be broken. Although if it had, Kimiko thought sourly, there wasn't much she'd be able to do by way of retribution. She has enough modesty in her to admit that Chase far outmatched her, all of the monks actually. At the thought of her teammates, the memory bean to test at the barriers of her will and again she had to forcefully shove it from her mind.

One problem at a time.

Her poor nose came first at the moment and she scowled at the sight of blood dripping into the sink. It was horribly bruised and bleeding gallons, but otherwise fine. Grabbing some tissues out of the golden tin next to the sink, she ripped the sheets and stuffed them into her nostrils. Satisfied with the results she decided to address the clothing problem. She scanned the expansive bathroom, past the marble sink and shining toilet before finding what she was looking for hanging delicately next to the glass shower. With a victorious smile she plucked the bathrobe from its perch, before dropping the comforter and slipping the fluffy garment on. She made her way to the bathroom door but frowned when she passed by the expansive bathtub. It was one of those exorbitantly oversized circles of a thing but its ornateness was not what caught her attention. She frowned.

What exactly was a pair of black dress pants doing there?

They lay in the tub in a crumpled heap, obviously thrown in by their owner. She wished they hadn't been. Maybe then Chase would have remembered to put them on before opening the door. Her face bloomed anew as he remembered the recent incident. She had hit him over the head with an ice bucket! Granted, she had panicked in the moment. One didn't take to kindly to waking up completely disoriented and finding your greatest enemy in bed with you. And then she had run out the door like some kind of hobbling marshmallow only to find herself outside in the unusually chilly Tokyo air. She couldn't blame Chase, honestly, for slamming the door in her face. She probably would have done the same.

That fact did not make the situation any less embarrassing. God, she had gotten a complete eyeful of him when he opened the door. She couldn't help it obviously, as there was no other direction for her eyes to go when he stood inches form her face but it was still no less mortifying. She didn't know what was worse, the fact that she had seen her greatest enemy completely exposed or the fact that she had liked what she saw. That admission was particularly mortifying. Chase was handsome, devastatingly so. One would have to be a fool not to admit it. But a pretty face covered from head to toe in armor was one thing. Seeing everything else underneath the apparel was quite another thing entirely. He almost looked like one of those Greek statues, the epitome of male perfection, at least that was her impression in the brief moment she saw his body before her panicked exit. And then of course there had been THAT. Kimiko huffed determinedly. She was NOT doing to think about THAT. It was ridiculously inappropriate despite the eyeful she had gotten only moments before. She just wasn't going to go there. Besides she had probably already went there quite enough last night and…

Kimiko slapped her hand to the side of her face with a squeak, hoping to physically derail the thought that was bubbling in her brain as she was forced to finally acknowledge the reality that hadn't quite dawned on her yet.

She had slept with Chase Young.

A sudden icy wave of absolute panic washed over her. What if the temple found out? They already thought badly of her after Raimundo. This certainly would not help in the deliberations they were currently having. This would only confirm their accusations, not to mention completely disgrace her in front of everyone she held dear. She could almost see their faces. Omi would look at her with the saddest sense of betrayal. Clay would turn away from her in shame. Master Fung would simply shake his head in scathing disapproval. And Raimundo… Raimundo was the last person she needed to think about right now.

Her fate was looking bleak indeed.

Kimiko clamped her eyes shut and hugged herself. She took a long shaky breath but refused to cry. She would not crumple into a defeated heap; she had too much pride in herself to do such a thing. She released her breath, which came out as more of an extended burst of air, and battled relentlessly against the dark fear that was beginning to consume her.

"You know the less time you sit in there moping, the more time we can use to fix this." Chase's voice rang through the door and Kimiko was quite suddenly pulled out of her dark thoughts. She unwound her arms and looked at the door as she wiped the beginnings of a meltdown from the corner of her eyes.

She had completely forgotten Chase's input in all of this. Surely he would be just as eager as her to avoid any sort of exposure on this incident. She wasn't alone. He needed a solution too and they could work to together to find one. Yes, it was Chase Young of all people.

But she wouldn't be alone.

Kimiko ruthlessly stamped the traitorous possibility of him completely abandoning her, or worse, using this for blackmail. She would stay optimistic and trust in Chase's sense of honor that he held above all else.

She walked determinedly to the door and gripped the handle resolutely, her destiny waiting on the other side.


	3. Chapter 3

Kimiko hesitated at the door. Despite her sudden rush of bravado, the nervous feeling that had been brewing in the pit of her stomach refused to die. Sure, she wasn't alone but just what exactly was she supposed to say to Chase? She had never even come close to this type of situation. Well, that wasn't entirely true but Kimiko had already banished that bitter memory for the day and she refused to go through the process for the second time in ten minutes. At the moment, Kimiko had no idea what was going to happen when she stepped out of the door. She could only pray that her and Chase would be able to work something out by way of damage control before the situation leaked out of the room. Kimiko bounced her head vigorously, giving herself an encouraging and enthusiastic hum. She turned the handle of the door, but stopped suddenly as she remembered something. She let go of he handle and went to the bathtub, where Chase's trousers still lay in a crumpled heap. Kimiko picked up the fabric, wrinkling her nose as the stench of expensive wine wafted from them and stung her nostrils. She bunched them in one hand and returned to the door. She wasn't going to get another show, that was for certain. With a resigned sigh, Kimiko opened the door, shutting of the lights on her way out.

"Well hello there princess. Are you quite finished?"

Kimiko followed the voice to the bed and blushed. Unfortunately, clothing still eluded Chase and the man remained covered only by the thin sheet. He sat leisurely on the mattress, his legs crossed under the sheet and arms splayed out behind him. Left on display was a taught muscular chest; with his log dark locks trailing over and ending at his waist, where narrow hips peeked out from the bunched fabric in his lap.

"Could you at least have the decency to find your underwear?" Kimiko snapped in an irritated fluster. Chase shrugged and his nonchalance only fueled her ire.

"I tried to find them, but my boxers seem to have vanished into the night." He looked at her hand and his eyes brightened considerably.

"Oh good, you found my pants." Chase smirked mischievously. "Wouldn't want to give you another free show now would I?"

Kimiko scoffed loudly and hurled the pants at his face. Chase deftly caught them in one hand. He looked at her expectantly, his eyebrows raising.

"What?" She snapped.

"You might want to turn around, " His face took on a playfully seductive appearance, "unless of course you would rather watch." Kimiko gaped at him for a moment before glaring in the face of his teasing, although her attempted menacing expression was somewhat diminished by the cherry hue of her face and the comedic addition of tissue paper in her nose. She huffed and spun around, crossing her arms violently. Chasse chuckled, and his teasing riled her. She deliberately ignored the rustle of fabric but her traitorous mind supplied the images anyway, not that she needed much imagination after the eyeful she had gotten only minutes ago. At this point the situation was so ridiculous that Kimiko was running short on embarrassment.

As Chase donned his pants, he stared at Kimiko's back in amusement. Her shoulders were tensed and he could see the flush that ran down her neck and splayed across her shoulder's. She was just so fun to tease with that short temper of hers. Plus his amusement helped distract him from the headache that this situation had the possibility to cause. The issue was a rather serious one. Fraternizing with the enemy was naturally frowned upon and the Xiaolin took such transgressions quite seriously, and that wasn't even touching on any sort of sexual relations. The temple simply did not tolerate such things and Kimiko faced the real risk of banishment. There were worse things the temple could do but they would likely have mercy on her as this was her first, and accidental, serious transgression, but it would also strengthen their prejudice against females in general and their perceived weakness.

As a man and a Heylin Chase would get off much easier than her as he had no authority to answer to but his own and he could simply convince the other Heylin that he was merely attempting a ploy at seduction. The real trouble for him lie with the Xiaolin, particularly her teammates, whom he had no doubt would seek divine retribution. Guan or Fung would likely challenge him to some violent match in order to restore Kimiko's honor. Raimundo would probably try to murder him, and get himself killed in the process, as Chase certainly wouldn't hesitate to defend himself. Needles to say, it would be an absolute mess and he was keen to avoid it. There was also the fact that he felt slightly at fault for causing this inconvenience for both of them. It had been truly irresponsible of him to become as intoxicated as he did and poor Kimiko had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time. So, as he fastened the button of his trousers, wincing at the stench of wine that emanated from them, Chase decided that a little chat was in order.

"I do believe we have some important things to discuss."

At the sound of Chase's voice Kimiko turned back to him and he could see her eyes linger on his body before they darted to his face, although she refused to make eye contact.

"Yeah…" She tapered off awkwardly, averting her eyes and shuffling her feet. She was likely unaccustomed to this type of situation, he realized. The implications of that observation bothered him, but he didn't dwell on it at the moment. Deciding to take the lead he turned towards the door on the other side of the room, next to the expensive television.

"I'm assuming from the opulence of this room that this door likely leads to a parlor of some kind, shall we go and sit?"

"That would probably be a good idea."

Chase walked to the door and opened it to reveal a pleasantly luxurious sitting room. Two couches were placed in the center; a rich mahogany table nestled between them. A grand piano stood in the corner, the light from the expansive windows adoring the adjacent wall making the glossy black paint shine. A generously sized bar sat at the other end of the room, framing a hallway that led to a double door, which he assumed led out of the suite. Chase took in the room and his eye twitched. Kimiko coughed delicately.

The room was completely trashed. Strewn about the area were various small liquor bottles. Draped across the couch facing him was a rather lovely evening gown, the stark white of the fabric shining against the soft baby blue of the sofa. He had no doubt the item had looked absolutely stunning on Kimiko, bringing out her bright blue eyes. Atop the dress was a single silver shoe, the sequins adorning it shimmering in the light that peaked through the curtains, not that there was much curtain left to peep through as only half the curtain remained on the pole, the other laying in a crumpled heap on the floor, the metal rings that had been securing it strewn about the floor. He ignored Kimiko as she chirped happily and made her way to the couch, where her dress awaited her. She held it up and frowned as she glanced at the surrounding area. Chase was too focused on the wall next to the piano, where a rather large red stain stood prominently amongst the creamy floral wallpaper. He followed the now dry lines where the liquid had run to find a shattered wine bottle on the floor. Why, exactly, one of them had found it necessary to create such a mess he had no clue but they had certainly been intoxicated enough, if the ransacked bar was anything to go by. The door of the mini fridge was ajar, the tiny bottles of alcohol one normally found inside absent. Besides the ones that were strewn about the floor, a much larger amount were sitting on the table; some upright, some toppled over and all of them completely empty. He shook his head before walking to the bar and shutting the fridge, although the snacks inside were more than likely spoiled.

"Jesus, what the hell happened?" Kimiko's voice tore him from his assessment and he turned his head to find her seated on the couch. She was gazing around the room in astonishment, her dress neatly folded beside her. Chase wondered why she had decided not to put it on. One would think she would want to maintain some propriety, especially since her robe proved a rather flimsy barrier between his eyes and the picture underneath. The robe was one of those flimsy silk things, the slightly fluffy lining doing nothing to thicken it. He could see quite clearly the curve of her hips, the shape of her thighs, and the swell of her breasts, none of which being anywhere close to unattractive. Chase swallowed and resisted the urge to rake his eyes across her figure. The fact that she was so innocently oblivious to his awareness only made his arousal worse. He cursed inwardly, feeling ridiculous for behaving like some lusty teenage boy. Chase Young didn't ogle damn it! He stubbornly attributed his distraction to the lingering effects of last night and the vicious hangover that was presently clouding his brain and stomach.

"Well I would be very interested to know." He replied, hoping that conversation would distract his mind from the very wrong path it was trying to take. Kimiko looked at him then, the apprehensive glimmer in her eyes confirming his suspicions. She didn't remember anything either. With a long sigh, Chase strode to the sofa across from her and seated himself, leaning forward with his hands clasped together between his spread knees. He looked at her intently, trying his hardest to keep his eyes on her face. She fidgeted under is stare.

"I'm assuming you remember just as much as I do, which is absolutely nothing." Kimiko nodded sadly.

"I don't even remember meeting you." She replied.

"Neither do I. Although," He continued, deciding to take the bull by the horns. "I think it is fairly obvious what transpired between us last night." Kimiko strayed her eyes away from him as she flushed a painful red and nodded shyly.

"Yeah." Was all she said while continuing to stare at the wall behind him. It stuck him quite suddenly that she was being meeker than normal. This quiet little mouse was the exact opposite of the fiery tiger he was used to dealing with on a normal basis. His confusion lasted for only a moment before he realized that he had forgotten she was a Xiaolin monk. They were notorious for sheltering their warriors, as any kind of intimate contact was greatly frowned upon. Kimiko likely had it even worse being a woman. The Xiaolin made no attempts to hide their blatant sexism. An uncomfortable feeling began to creep into the pit of his stomach. There was a solid chance that he was her first. Chase was about to gently inquire about it but Kimiko opened her mouth before he had a chance to speak.

"Nobody can know about this."

Kimiko had sobered, all traces of embarrassment gone. She was staring right at him now, her eyes meeting his, a fear in their depths so profound, it startled him. Surely banishment wasn't so horrifying. It wasn't as if she would be forbidden from seeing her friends again, quite the contrary in fact. Kimiko wouldn't be out of the Xiaolin circle, merely forbidden from participating in their activities, and even then they would probably relent eventually and allow her back.

"You act as if this mere lapse in judgment will lead to your utter ruin." He peered at her curiously and Kimiko caught on to his probing. The previous darkness of her countenance had suddenly vanished and was replaced with exasperation as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because banishment is such a small thing." She bit sarcastically and Chase knew she was trying to doge the issue. That wasn't what she was afraid of, otherwise Kimiko wouldn't have tried to hide herself and steer his probing down the wrong path. It wasn't working, as he was a master at both using and protecting himself from manipulation and she was a thousand years to early to be trying to hide something from his well-trained eyes. Were it not six in the morning and were he not sporting a now monstrous headache, he would interrogate her further, as the scope of her concern had interesting implication. It was highly possible that Kimiko was in some kind of precarious position at the temple as she was acting as if this incident would seal some kind of dismal fate she was trying to avoid. It was something he would look into when he returned home. For the moment, however, he shifted his interest and decided to follow along with her diversion.

"You monks take your job so seriously." He said with a mocking sort of gravity. Kimiko narrowed her eyes at him and he could see the expectation of blackmail in her eyes. Had the situation been almost anything but this, Chase would have jumped at the chance to utilize incriminating information for his machinations. However, Chase had both his honor as a warrior and as a man and that honor dictated that one didn't drunkenly coerce an innocent an inexperienced girl into one's bed and turn around to use their vulnerability to their advantage. He was a Heylin not a beast, well at least not in the figurative sense. Her expression was unwavering and he decided to calm her apprehension.

"Have no fear my dear girl." He began, raising his hands in mock surrender, "I have no intention of taking advantage of this rather precarious situation. I have just as much of a desire as you to have this incident spread amongst our respective circles. The details will not leave this room," Chase took on a rather playful smirk. "Not that there are many details to begin with, thankfully."

His curiosity was piqued once again at Kimiko's reaction to his playful tease. Rather than rising to his bait and snapping out a fiery retort as he would have expected, her shoulder's instantly sagged with relief, her eyes shining in graditude. It was rather out of character and increased Chase's resolve to find out what was troubling her. Whatever it was, he thought with an inward smirk, it was something he may be able to use to his advantage later, sans any mention of this incident.

"So this never happened then?" Her wary reply broke him from his musings. Her current mood only increased his determination. He was definitely going to discover what was going on at the temple. It cheered him up a bit that, despite this headache of an incident, he would have something to entertain him for the next couple of weeks. But before that, he needed to get out of here first.

"Never happened." He replied with finality.

A silence descended on the two as the awkwardness of the situation set in. The two refused to meet eyes, and Chase was struggling to find a way to extricate himself in the least uncomfortable manner. Kimiko opened her mouth but abruptly closed it with a blush as she shifted her eyes over his form. Chase tilted his head before he remembered he was without a shirt. She must be very inexperienced indeed if such a small thing rankled her so. An uncomfortable knot formed in his stomach at the thought.

"You haven't seen my shirt around here have you?" He queried, applauding himself at how well he hid his discomfort. Kimiko seemed to understand the pity he was taking on her and smiled gratefully, her eyes searching the room She frowned before glancing up and suddenly taking on a rather befuddled expression. Chase almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous she looked with those tissues stuffed up her nose.

"Found it." Kimiko said, pointing upward as she looked at him in amusement. His gaze followed her finger and he snorted with mirth. His white dress shirt was nestled in the crystal chandelier, the fabric woven into the shining gems. Chase stood but Kimiko beat him to it.

"I got it." She said when he opened is mouth to protest, "It's the least I can do."

She must be quite relieved indeed that had had sworn to secrecy. Chase remained standing as Kimiko stood gracefully, the opening of her robe shifting slightly with the movement. He tried in vain to ignore the bare, creamy shoulder that was suddenly on display. She lifted her leg to gingerly step on the glass-covered table and Chase could help but to stare at the porcelain leg that was bared before him, his eyes trailing up to her silky thigh. An image, or perhaps a memory, flashed through his mind and Chase was quit suddenly certain that that leg felt as soft as it looked. He furiously tried to suppress the wave of heat that coursed through him in that moment. Such a task was immensely difficult when he was at eye level with her barely concealed chest. She was so close he could smell the faint scent of her perfume, the same one that had foiled her plan to impersonate Jack Spicer all those years ago. It was, however, much diluted by Chase's own scent, with radiated from her body in waves and made an instinctive shock of lust course through him. He needed to get the hell out of here.

He moved to extricate Kimiko from her task when she suddenly yelped as she slipped on one of the bottles. Kimiko dove forward, her arms clutching his short over her head. He automatically caught her as she slammed against him. Chase could feel the tickle of his shirt on his back although her barely noticed. He was far to distracted by the soft body against his own. Kimiko molded to him rather perfectly, as if she had always been there. Her head was settled in the crook of his neck and he could smell her strawberry shampoo mixed the remnants of sweat. She was warm against his bare skin and her flimsy robe did nothing to hamper the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest. All of this, coupled with the fact that she was literally bathed in his scent, nearly set his blood on fire. And she was just so damn oblivious!

"Um…" Kimiko lifted her head and stared at him with wide, doe like eyes and a pink flush on her face. Her lips were slightly parted as of she had been about to say something but had been caught in the same trap he was now thrashing in. Had it been someone else, literally anyone else, he wouldn't have heisted to cover those full red lips with his own, but Chase knew this was game he couldn't afford to play. He need to get away form her as soon as possible, lest he do something he would come to regret. He made to move away but Kimiko beat him too it, sliding her hands down his neck in a way that sent a shiver through his body and pushing his chest until he back away obligingly.

"Here." She stuttered, holding out his shirt and looking away. As he took the garment from her slightly shaking hands, Chase wondered if she had felt the same blast of desire that had come over him. He ignored the feeling of satisfaction the thought produced. Kimiko stared at him for a moment before turning around.

"God it's hot in here." She huffed as she strode to the window.

Well that was an understatement.

"I think we have said all that needs to be said here." Chase said as he put hos arms though his shirt. "I'm going to leave now."

They probably didn't say everything that needed to be said but Chase was to eager to leave the suddenly charged situation and the heat tat came with it to care.

"Yeah, yeah," Kimiko waved her hand dismissively, her back to him as she fumbled with the window, "See you at the next showdown."

Chase was about to teleport before remembering one more essential item they had forgotten to address.

"Check in with me in a few weeks, if you please." Kimiko turned her head and looked at him for a moment before donning a rather awkward expression as she realized to what he was referring.

"I know, I know." She exhaled, something glimmering in her eyes he couldn't quite identify before she swung her head back around as quickly as humanly possible. Kimiko twisted the latch and the tell tale whistle of suppressed air sounded through the room as she shoved the window open. Her hair billowed at the sudden gust of air, looking to Chase like a rather graceful explosion of ink.

"All right then." Chase sighed. He stood for a moment and concentrated, summoning the magic within him. The familiar flow of energy never came, however, and Chase narrowed his eyes. In the distance, he heard Kimiko let out a horrified gasp.

"Why the hell can't I teleport?"

"Why the fuck are we in France!"


	4. Chapter 4

Kimiko could only stare agape at the landscape before her. She had opened the window, partly because it really was quite stuffy and partly because she wanted to escape the awkwardness she felt every time she looked at Chase. Kimiko would not lie and say she wasn't relived when he announced his intentions to leave the scene. The sooner they returned to their normal routine the better. Upon sticking her head out the window she had expected to be met with the Tokyo skyline. What she had not expected was to see the Eiffel tower in the distance. After her surprised outburst she whirled around and was partially relieved to see Chase still standing there, staring at his hand with a perturbed expression on his face.

"Why are we in France!?" At her outburst Chase snapped his head up, a light of surprise filling his eyes.

"What are you talking about? The conference was in Tokyo." He titled his head. Had it been any other situation Kimiko would have found it almost comical to see Chase Young in such a state of confusion. Instead she huffed angrily and pointed an angry finger at the window.

"Why don't you see for yourself." She snapped angrily. Chase didn't reply to her angry outburst, merely walked past her, his long strides taking him to a stop in front of the window. He stuck is head out and Kimiko could see the wind blowing his silky hair. For a brief, nonsensical moment she wondered if it was a soft as it looked.

"Oh dear." He merely said.

"Take me back!" She demanded and Chase turned his head slightly, an irritated glare in his golden eyes.

"You think I would still be standing here if I could?" He huffed and Kimiko could only stare incredulously.

"You have teleportation powers!" Chase moved from the window to lean against the wall and cross his arms. He seemed rather perturbed but Kimiko realized his irritation was not directed at her. He held up a hand and she watched as a little green ball of energy materialized in his palm. It held form for a few moments before it sizzled and shrank to nothingness.

"My magic is being blocked somehow." He explained at the sight of her dumbfounded expression. "Teleportation is out of the question."

"Are you kidding me?!" She yelped.

"Afraid not." Chase seemed unmoved by her distress, moving away from the wall to search around the room.

"Where the hell are my shoes?" He grumbled angrily. Kimiko was shocked at how nonchalant he was being about the whole thing.

"Could you help me find my shoes?"

"I have bigger problems here." She yelled and Chase glared at her, a hand covering his head. She noticed a rather nasty purple bruise forming there and was reminded of the previous incident that caused it. She felt just a bit guilty, but he was being infuriating at the moment.

"Why are you being so difficult." He growled. Kimiko let out an incredulous shout.

"Gee maybe its because I'm stuck in the middle of France with no way to leave!" Chase raised an eyebrow.

"A trip to the airport is going to solve this quite quickly." He said matter of factly, as if she were a child.

"And how exactly am I supposed to pay for it?" Kimiko snapped back.

When she had found her dress, Kimiko had surveyed the room for her purse but it couldn't be found. The only object from it that remained was her cellphone which she had seen sitting on the nightstand. Needless to say, she was royally screwed at the moment. Kimiko could have just called her father but the fact that this night shouldn't have happened put a wrench in those plans. Chase was staring at her like she was the biggest idiot on the planet and it was not helping her mood. The immortal patted the left side of his trousers and her acute hearing picked up the sound of something inside it slapping against his hand.

"My wallet appears to be perfectly intact." At her dumfounded expression he huffed out a laugh and Kimiko yet again felt like he was talking to a child.

"You didn't think I was just going to leave you here did you?" Kimiko was silent as she stared at him in confusion.

"You seemed to be just fine with leaving before." She said doubtfully and Chase gave her another one of those looks that told her he thought she was being an idiot.

"That was before I found out our actual location. I had assumed that we were in the same hotel that the conference was being held."

"So?"

"So, before I thought you could have easily gone home. In France you are obviously stuck as I am sure you don't want to call your father."

It sounded so sensible that Kimiko was actually beginning to feel like the idiot Chase kept looking at her as. It seemed so out of character for him to reach out a helping hand, especially considering that they were supposed to be mortal enemies. After a moment though, Kimiko realized she probably shouldn't be so surprised. The man obviously had is honor, and while Kimiko would have normally been insulted at being treated like some damsel, she was in far too dire of straights to be able to care at the moment. When she ha first seen the Eiffel tower in the distance and when she had thought Chase had already left, the coldest of panics had settled over her. She was trapped, truly, with no money and only a cellphone that was useless unless she wanted someone to ask questions. Chase was offering her the perfect opportunity for a clean getaway. Other than the fact that he was Heylin, there really was no sensible reason for her to refuse to accompany him. Besides, they would likely part ways at the airport since she certainly wasn't going back to China at the moment. Kimiko would go with him, get on a plane for Tokyo and put this whole mess behind her. Then she could focus on her real troubles. A warmth of relief spread through her and she stared at Chase in utter gratitude.

"Thank You." Kimiko said earnestly and Chase seemed taken aback by the emotion within her words. He averted his eyes and didn't reply for several seconds. Kimiko began to feel slightly awkward.

"Your welcome." He mumbled. Kimiko wondered how long it had been since anyone had honestly thanked him for something. She was quite certain that there were few deeds the man had done in his time as a Heylin to warrant the earnest graditude he had received. Had she been in her usual mischievous mood she would have teased him for his sudden shyness, if only to dispel she awkwardness that had settled over the pair. As of now, however, the current situation didn't give her the stomach for it. Not to mention that it was probably a bad idea to antagonize her only ticket out of here, despite the fact that he looked utterly adorable at the moment. Kimiko smacked herself inwardly at the thought. The fire dragon wondered if it was the alcohol that was giving her these weird thoughts. First she thinks the man is attractive and now she wants to pat him on the head as if he were a child! Well, she amended, he did look adorable when nervous and she didn't need alcohol to know that he was quite handsome. Kimiko slapped her hand against her head and growled at her traitorous thoughts.

"Are you even listening to me?" At the irritated voice Kimiko yelped, a flush covering her face. Chase's previous expression was gone, replaced by the sort of irritation she usually saw when he was talking to Jack Spicer. She scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts for a moment." She said apologetically. Chase snorted, crossing his arms and shaking his head. Kimiko's eye twitched. It was definitely the alcohol. There was no way she would be attracted to such a jerk.

"I was saying that you should hurry and gather your things and get dressed so we can get going." The man repeated, looking displeased and impatient.

"Oh okay. I'll go do that." Kimiko replied. Eager to get this unpleasant experience over with, she moved quickly to the sofa to get her dress. She stared mournfully at her single shoe. The other one was nowhere to be found and the thought of having to walk the dirty streets of Paris in her bare feet made her inwardly cringe. A cab would be quite nice. She hoped Chase would be kind enough to get one for her. Although, she thought with scoff, he would probably make her walk out of spite.

"Lost in your thoughts again?" A sourly sweet voice asked, bringing Kimiko out of her musings.

"Whatever." Kimiko snapped, turning to the door leading to the bedroom. She grasped the handle and was about to turn it when she heard Chase mumble something behind her.

"Women and their musings." He scoffed silently and Kimiko whirled around to face him angrily.

"Excuse me!?" She exclaimed angrily.

"Excuse you." Chase said icily, which a glare that slanted his eyes into slits. "You're the one who screamed in my face, hit me with an ice bucket, and is now taking her sweet time getting ready despite my kindness."

Incensed at his sudden mood swing, Kimiko clenched her fists and began to march towards him.

"Nobody asked you to-" Kimiko couldn't finish her sentence as she stepped on one of the tiny bottles that littered the floor. It rolled under her foot and suddenly the ground swept out from under her. Kimiko gasped as her back slammed on the carpet, the impact forcing the breath out of her. Her head was throbbing from the smack, her already alcohol ravaged brain sending waves if pain through her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut as her vision swam. For the second time that day Kimiko had made a complete bumbling fool of herself. In front of Chase no less. The man was probably soaking in amusement right now. Kimiko sat up slowly and cracked her eyes open, half expecting to see Chase looking at her with laughter in his eyes. When her vision finally returned to her, Chase was indeed staring, although the emotion on his face was certainly not amused. His eyes were wide and his mouth lightly parted. The immortal had one hand out stretched, as if he had been about to help her up before something had stopped him. Kimiko tilted her head, leaning back against the arms behind her. She saw Chases breath hitch before he swung away from her. She saw his elbow extend as he coughed into his hand. His back was stiff as a board and Kimiko had never seen him so tense. She wondered what his problem was before she felt a cool breeze on her chest. Kimiko looked down to see that the robe had fallen off her shoulders during her tumble. The fabric was now pooled at her waist, her entire upper body fully exposed. Kimiko let out a strangled yelp, covering her breasts with one hand and grasping her robe with the other. She rather frantically pulled the fabric back on and stood up. Chase turned back around. Kimiko could only stare at him like an idiot.

"Um."

The two stared at each other, a certain something in Chase's eyes that looked familiar to her, something she had seen in another man's gaze not too long ago. The man took a step forward, then another and another until he was less than a foot away from her. Kimiko stood frozen in her spot and tensed as he reached out a hand.

"Ch-chase?"

Suddenly, a scraping noise sounded throughout the room. It snapped Chase out of the haze he was in as he jerked his head towards the sound, the source of which seemed to be coming from a door on the left side of the entryway. Another scrape sounded followed by a strange hissing noise that sounded a lot like someone had just violently spit on the door.

"What in the world?" Chase said, perplexed as he made his way over the door. Kimiko followed him, both curious at this new development and relived that whatever funk he had just been in seemed to have passed. As the duo got closer, the door lurched as something large slammed into it. It was so sudden that Kimiko yelped. Chase turned his head and glared at her, putting a finger to his lips. Kimiko stuck her tongue out at him and Chase rolled his eyes before turning back to the door. They crept silently up to the wooden barrier and Chase grasped the handle, Kimiko staying behind him. A sudden screech rang out from within. To Kimiko it sounded like some kind of demonic squeaky toy and the noise was loud enough to startle both of them away from the door.

"What the hell?" Kimiko exclaimed. Chase remained silent as he tensed in preparation for a fight, once again grasping the doorknob. In one swift motion he opened the door and was shocked into a stupor at the creature standing in the bathroom.

"What the?"

In the threshold stood a white Alpaca, wearing a blue vest and the closest thing it could get to a snarl.

Dojo stared at his cellphone, a birthday gift from Kimiko, and worried. The other monks circled around him, staring at the screen showing ten missed calls with equal amounts of concern.

"Kimiko has not answered any of our phone calls. This is most troubling." Omi said anxiously.

"Don't worry brother Omi." Ping Pong chimed in reassuringly. "Perhaps she is still asleep. It is still morning and I saw on the news yesterday that her father hosted some kind of convention."

"The little guy is probably right." Clay said, "Maybe she had a long night."

"I dunno guys." Dojo replied. "Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you think Raimundo?" Omi asked, turning towards the fifth member of the group. Raimundo was off to the side, a troubled expression on his face that the rest had gotten to know quite well for the past couple of days.

"Maybe she is still upset." Raimundo said quietly.

"You did the honorable thing Raimundo. You know it is impossible to return her feelings." Omi replied.

"Yeah." Raimundo said quietly.

"Maybe we should go check on her?" Ping Pong chimed in hopefully, eager to see his surrogate big sister after their time apart.

"You guys should go. I'm sure she would like to see some friendly faces." Raimundo suggested. The others didn't comment on that fact that the wind dragon left himself out. They knew it was probably for the best.

"I agree." Dojo said helpfully. "Besides, a trip would be nice."

"It's settled then." Omi said enthusiastically. "We are going to Tokyo!"


End file.
